Countertenor

“How can someone who looks like a pirate have a voice like an angel’s?” The question was written on the enraptured faces of everyone in the audience who came for countertenor Lee Dong-gyu’s house concert held on the night of September 12, at an Italian restaurant in Seoul.

His facial expressions livened up the recital, a happy face for Handel’s “Happiness,” lofty for Schubert’s “Litanei,” and mischievous for the contemporary music of Jake Heggie, who became famous for his opera “Dead Man Walking.” The bleached blond hair and tanned bronze skin of this young man made his volatile voice seem all the more incredible.

Lee’s first recital will be held at the LG Art Center on September 20, 8:00 p.m. Lee, who is also known as David DQ Lee, has previously performed with great success at the Tongyeong International Music Festival in March, and held a “Love Duet Concert” with soprano Lim Sun-hae in May.

Countertenors are actually little known to the general public, only gaining recognition with the popular movie “Farinelli.” Through vigorous training, Lee has worked his way up from a true bass baritone to tenor, and then remarkably finally conquering the territory of female mezzo-soprano.

Lee will not only perform his forte, Baroque, but also Schubert and Bizet, contemporary music from Heggi, and the early songs of Yoon In-sang like “Letter” and “Antique Costume.” Schubert’s “Erlkonig” is expected to be the highlight of the show, hitting the four octaves of four different characters. Lee won the grand prize and swept six other categories at the Francisco Vinas International Singing Contest.

Lee is set to appear in Monteverdi’s opera “Orfeo” conducted by Rene Jacobs in Berlin next year. Yang Gi-hoon (Professor at ChungAng University) who played for Lee at the Aspen music festival in 2000 will collaborate with him once more, along with guitarist Goh Ui-seok. Ticket prices are 30,000 to 60,000 won. Call 02-529-3529 for more information.

raphy@donga.com